A lineal champion in boxing is the fighter who beat the previous reigning champion, or top fighter, in a division. There is no set criteria for when a lineal champion is first named, but it is a title that's long been used in boxing and passed down throughout generations as current champions are dethroned and new champions emerge.
While no physical title is rewarded for the lineal champion, it is most often representative of the division's top fighter at any given time.
Here is a list of the all-time lineal champions in the heavyweight division.
John L Sullivan: 1885-1892
James J Corbett 1892-1887
Bob Fitzsimmons 1897-1899
James J Jeffries 1899-1905
Marvin Hart 1905-1906
Tommy Burns 1906-1908
Jack Johnson 1908-1915
Jess Willard 1915-1919
Jack Dempsey 1919-1926
Gene Tunney 1926-1928
Max Schmeling 1930-1932
Jack Sharkey 1932-1933
Primo Carnera 1933-1934
Max Baer 1934-1935
Jim Braddock 1935-1937
Joe Louis 1937-1949
Ezzard Charles 1949-1951
Jersey Joe Walcott 1951-1952
Rocky Marciano 1952-1956
Floyd Patterson 1956-1959, 1960-1962
Ingemar Johansson 1959-1960
Sonny Liston 1962-1964
Muhammad Ali 1964-1970, 1974-1978, 1978-1979
Joe Frazier 1970-1973
George Foreman 1973-1974, 1994-1997
Leon Spinks 1978
Larry Holmes 1980-1985
Michael Spinks 1985-1988
Mike Tyson 1988-1990
Buster Douglas 1990
Evander Holyfield 1990-1992, 1993-1994
Riddick Bowe 1992-1993
Michael Moorer 1994
Shannon Briggs 1997-1998
Lennox Lewis 1998-2001, 2001-2004
Hasim Rahman 2001
Wladimir Klitschko 2009-2015
Tyson Fury 2015-2024
Oleksandr Usyk 2024-
